Sabre met JP at a park near the foster home. He stood near a palm tree about ten feet from his car. He was gazing out at the park, looking from side to side, then up the street toward the foster home as she walked up.
“What are you thinking?”
Without turning around, JP said, “Just assume for a minute that Cole ran away on his own. That no one else was involved. Why would he do that?”
“To get home?”
“Yes, but remember he’s the ‘man’ of the house …”
“… So, he would want to protect the other children and get them home, too,” Sabre finished his sentence.
“And the only sibling he knows the whereabouts of is Hayden.”
“But they questioned Hayden yesterday and everyone was convinced he didn’t know anything.”
“That was yesterday; he could try to see him today or tomorrow.”
“And in the meantime he would stay close by.” She looked at JP. “Do you think he’s here in the park?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth the time to ask a few questions.”
“But there’s no one here but the homeless and a few runners.”
“And they were likely here yesterday morning as well, and many of them were here last night.”
“Let’s roll. I’ll start at the other end of the park,” Sabre said as she headed off.
“No, stay with me,” JP snapped, then paused. “Some of these people will respond better to you.”
Sabre smirked. She knew JP didn’t want her off by herself in the park for her own safety. She felt better, too, so she acquiesced.
They started their questioning with the joggers they saw along the trail. It was an area that had been carved out primarily for runners and bikers. No one had seen any sign of Cole, but some recognized his picture from the news and the Amber Alert. As they walked, JP checked behind each bush or structure.
“You think he may already be dead, don’t you?” Sabre asked, as JP trampled through some bushes.
JP looked at Sabre. The lines on his forehead seemed deeper and his eyes gave away his concern. He took a breath and his face lightened a little. He reached out and took her hand. “I think he may still be alive. I think he could be hiding. I think he could be hurt, tired, hungry, scared. And yes, I think there are other possibilities, but I choose to think he’s still alive.” He let go of her hand. She sighed and they continued to talk with everyone they met.
They woke a man asleep on a bench, covered with a dirty overcoat, and showed him Cole’s picture. “Nope. Never seen him.”
The next man they met asked for some money. He wore a mangled hat that looked like it was once a light brown but now was dark from dirt and grease. His shoeless toes on both feet protruded out of soiled socks. He reeked of alcohol and urine. JP took a dollar bill out of his wallet. He started to hand it to the man, but held on to it as he showed him the picture of Cole. The man shook his head. “Sorry, man,” he slurred. JP let go of the bill.
They continued for several hours through the park, covering ground and killing time until it was late enough to contact Hayden’s foster parents and interview Hayden again. Before they reached the opposite end of the park, they encountered a woman fumbling through a trash can. She was methodically sorting, removing the bottles and cans as well as discarded bags of half-eaten food. She picked up a bag that read McDonalds across the side, opened it up, and then tossed it back. She pulled out two soda cans and placed them in her shopping cart, along with an empty beer bottle and two plastic water bottles. She leaned into the trash can again and pulled out a bag from In-N-Out. She opened it, removed a half-eaten tray of French fries, and set them in a cardboard box in the basket portion of her cart. Sabre and JP stood there watching her as she continued to stash bottles and cans into her cart, but placed a piece of donut, left-over Chinese food in its paper carton, and a Styrofoam container of Mexican food into her cardboard box.
They approached her cautiously so as not to startle her. Sabre spoke. “Good morning, ma’am.”
“Hmpf,” the woman responded.
“Excuse me. We’re looking for a missing child.” Sabre showed the picture of Cole to the woman. “Have you seen this boy?”
“Lots of boys everywhere. Boys play. Boys help. Boys drink and eat.” She reached in her basket and picked up a donut. “Hungry?”
“No, thank you. You keep it.” Sabre felt a tug at her heart for the generosity of this poor woman. “Have you seen this boy?” Sabre extended the photo.
“Nice boy.”
“Do you know him?”
“Good boy.”
“Have you seen him here in the park?” Sabre tried again.
“In the park. Yes, in the park.”
“You’ve seen him here in the park?”
“No.” The woman returned to the trash and started digging again.
“Thank you,” Sabre said and started to walk away.
The woman pulled out another fast food bag with a partially eaten hamburger and placed it in her box. Sabre thought she heard her say, “Food for the boy.”
Sabre turned to JP. “Did you hear what she said?”
“It sounded like she said, ‘Food for the boy.’”
“Do you think she has seen him?”
“It’s hard to say. She’s not making a lot of sense.”
Sabre walked back to the woman and showed her the picture again. “Do you know this boy’s name?”
“Boy,” the woman responded as she reached her hand toward the photo and moved her finger across it, as if she were caressing his face.
“What do you call him?” Sabre asked.
“Boy.” This time she didn’t look up.
“His name is Cole. Do you know where he is?” The woman continued to dig through the trash, not looking or responding to Sabre’s question. Sabre asked again, “Do you know Cole?”
“Boy,” the woman said. She pushed the trash can back up in place, picked up some papers that had fallen to the ground, and pushed her cart away walking behind it away from Sabre.
Sabre walked back to JP. “What do you think?”
“I think she feels compassion for the lost boy, but there’s no way to know if she has seen him. Even if she did, I don’t think she could tell us anything.”
Sabre took a deep breath. “You’re probably right. I just want to find someone who has seen him, and the way she touched the photo it seemed like she might have connected with him somehow.”
“I can follow her and see if it leads us anywhere. We don’t have anything else at this point.”
“Why don’t you do that. I’ll go see Hayden and see if he has heard from him.”
Sabre left JP to keep an eye on the old woman. She called the foster parent as she walked to her car and made arrangements for a visit. Hayden was living only about three blocks from the park so Sabre arrived within a few minutes. The foster mother greeted her at the door and invited her in.
“He’s in his room. I’ll get him,” the foster mother said. She motioned to a chair. “Have a seat.” She paused. “He keeps asking to see his siblings, especially Cole. Is there any word on him?”
“No. We have nothing.”
“Hayden doesn’t know he’s missing. Are you going to tell him?”
“No. I don’t think he needs to know at this point, but I want to make sure Hayden lets us know if he hears from him. I believe that if Cole has a way to get to his siblings he will, and Hayden is the closest.”
“We will certainly watch for any signs.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
The foster mother walked upstairs, returned with Hayden, and then left the room. “Hi, Hayden,” Sabre said as she stood up. “Do you remember me?”
“Yeah, you’re the ‘tourney.”
“Very good memory. How are you doing here?”
“I miss my mom. Can I see her?”
“We’re working on that.” Sabre turned to keep Hayden from seeing the sadness in her face.
“When did you last see Cole?” Sabre asked, since she had an opening.
“At my new school.”
“Did he tell you when he would see you again?”
“I’ll see him at school.” Hayden dashed around the corner to the kitchen to his foster mother and said, “When is school again?”
“Tomorrow,” she said.
He ran back in the room. “I’ll see him tomorrow at school.”
Sabre was sorry that she had brought it up. Hayden was obviously looking forward to his next contact with his brother and she knew Cole wouldn’t be at school for him to see. “Hayden, next time you see Cole, whether it is at school or wherever, will you please tell your foster parents so they can let me know. And also ask him to call me.” She handed Hayden her card. “Do you have one of these?”
“Nope.”
“This is my business card. It has my phone numbers on it. You hold onto this and if you ever need me for anything you call me, okay?”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“I’m sure your foster parents will let you use the phone to call me.”
Hayden darted around the corner again. “Can I use the phone to call my ‘tourney?”
The foster mother came back in the room with her arm around Hayden’s shoulder. She said, “Of course. You can use the phone anytime to call your attorney.”
The dog in the backyard barked and Hayden ran out the back door. Sabre said, “He seems to be bonding with you.”
“He’s a wonderful child. He’s so playful and lovable. He likes to be cuddled, and he really misses his mother and his siblings.”
“I’m going to make an extra effort to have them detained together. His mother is clear out in Vista and she doesn’t have a car, so it’s difficult, and the other sibs are in Jamul and El Cajon.”
“If we need to find a central meeting place, I’ll do what I can. Hayden is just so precious, a little bit wild, but so sweet. He looks so sad sometimes when he talks about his family. You can tell how lonely he is. At night he cries for them and he keeps crying until he finally falls asleep.”
13
Juvenile court detention hearings had another strange case on the calendar. Bob spotted it as he rifled through the detention hearings.
“Are you on detentions this morning?” Sabre asked.
“No. I was just curious to see if there were any more bizarre cases.” He handed the blue petition to Sabre. “And voilà.”
“What kind of case is it?”
“It has several allegations.”
Sabre looked at the petition and then glanced at the detention report accompanying it. “It has neglect and abuse. Drug use by both parents. It says here that they were passed out in the living room while twin toddlers roamed the house.” Sabre scrunched her face. “Dang, the twins took a dive out a window from the second story. They both survived. One fell on a chaise lounge and the other on top of the first. Just one broken arm and some bruises. Boy, were they lucky.”
Bob read over her shoulder. “And 66 is written on the walls in lipstick.”
“Stupid people.” Sabre shook her head in disgust.
“Yeah, don’t they know they’re supposed to use blo-o-o-od to write with?” He stretched out the word blood.
“You goofball.” Sabre tapped Bob shoulder with her open hand. “Seriously, what do you think is going on here in San Diego?”
“Beats me. JP said he heard about a few reportings by the police about some strange happenings in criminal cases, besides the house that was on the news, I mean.”
“Do they have any suspects for that house?”
“They don’t even have any serious crimes to attach to it. They did find some human blood but very little and it was real old, probably belonged to the last tenant; mostly they found animal blood and there was no real indication of animal abuse or ritualistic behavior. The pentagram on the floor was drawn with blood, but it was beef and pork blood and could’ve been obtained at a supermarket. The only other thing they really have is trespassing. It was an abandoned building. The fingerprints haven’t led them anywhere, at least according to JP’s inside sources.”
“So, what the heck is going on?”
“I don’t know.” Bob changed the subject. “Did you know my client, Karen Lecy, got out of jail this morning?”
“Bailey’s mom?”
“Yup. Any word on Bailey, yet?”
“No. JP is still looking. Maybe she’ll try to see her mom.”
“I’ll be talking with Karen today. I’ll tell her to report it if she sees Bailey, and I will carefully explain the legal ramifications if she doesn’t. I’m sure she’ll be happy to cooperate.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Anything more on Cole?” The concern was evident in his voice.
“No. The police were following up on the ‘sighting,’ if you can call it that, by the homeless woman, but no news yet. JP went to Cole’s school this morning and gave photos of him to all the teachers in case he went there to see Hayden. I’m so worried about that little boy.”
Bob put his arm around Sabre’s shoulder. “I know. Me, too. I’d be going out of my mind if that were Corey.” Sabre knew he understood. Bob’s son, Corey, was about the same age.
Bob and Sabre worked through their morning calendar, went to Pho’s for lunch, and then back to court for an afternoon trial. After several hours of negotiations on a tox baby case, the trial was settled. Bob’s client, the mother, had already completed an in-house drug program and continued to attend Narcotic Anonymous meetings on a daily basis. The baby was placed with the mother in the grandmother’s home. The father was allowed supervised visitation until he successfully completed his programs and then supervision could be lifted by the social worker if Sabre, the minor’s attorney, concurred.
Bob spoke as they walked out of the courtroom. “That took forever. We could’ve done the trial more quickly.”
“Yeah, but we may not have had the same result.”
“I would’ve won that one.”
“Only because we were on the same side. That baby needed to be with her mother. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard to obtain sobriety. I just hope she stays that way.”
“She’s pretty determined and she has great support from her family. I think she’ll make it.”
As they walked out the door toward their cars, Sabre received a text. She read it and said, “I’m going to go meet JP. He has a lead on Cole.”
“Did someone find him?” Bob’s eyes opened wide.
“No, but it seems someone saw him. That’s about all I know. He told me not to go there, but I’m going anyway.” Sabre opened up her car door and stepped inside. “I’ll keep you posted.”
As Sabre drove to meet JP at the park where they had spoken to the old woman, she was excited they had a lead, but nervous about what they might find out. JP was waiting for her when she arrived. “I thought I told you not to come here.”
“So, why are you here waiting for me?”
“Because I knew you’d show up and I didn’t want you wandering around here by yourself.”
Sabre smiled. “Thanks.”
JP mumbled something Sabre couldn’t understand and then said, “I stayed with the old woman yesterday for a couple of hours but she didn’t lead me anywhere. When she lay down under a tree and fell asleep, I left. But then I came back today and spoke to a homeless man who said ‘the woman’ would know. When I asked him ‘what woman’ he pointed to the same woman we talked to yesterday. He said she goes to the bridge every day about this time. So, I’m going there to see what it’s all about. You wait here.”
Sabre tipped her head to the left and rolled her eyes upward. “I’m going with you.” Sabre popped her trunk open, stepped out of the car, and walked to the back. She slipped off her heels and replaced her shoes. “See, I even have my walking shoes on. Let’s go.”
JP shook his head. “You’re a pain s
ome times, you know?”
Sabre smiled sheepishly.
“Well, stay close to me. Don’t wander off. We’re going to be about as welcome as a skunk at a wedding.”
Sabre laughed.
They walked through the park and across a field toward a bridge that no longer appeared to serve any purpose. It once crossed over a street, but now it ended in mid-air and was blocked off at the end. Brush scraped against Sabre’s pant leg, sometimes sticking through the fabric. Sabre hadn’t quite expected all the debris and she was glad she had at least changed her shoes. The closer they got to the bridge, the more garbage they encountered. She stepped on a piece of glass that wrapped around her shoe and stuck to it without cutting her foot. She stopped and removed the broken bottle.
“Ah,” Sabre said shaking her bleeding finger.
“Are you okay?” JP asked.
“I just cut my finger. It’s nothing, just a little puncture.”
JP mumbled something again. She chose not to ask him to repeat it.
As they approached the bridge, the smell of garbage grew stronger. Sabre took a deep breath, expecting it to be the last good air she was going to breathe for a while. She was right. The stench became so strong she wanted to vomit as they passed a pile of trash near the opening. “I think the skunk has already been here,” Sabre said.
JP didn’t respond. Sabre knew he was a little bit upset at her for insisting that she go along, but she knew he’d get over it as long as she didn’t do something really stupid.
Up until that point they hadn’t seen anyone, but just as they went under the edge of the bridge, they saw a group of people at the other end approximately thirty feet away. There appeared to be about ten men and women sitting around on boxes and rocks and a few others lying down. They could hear the chatter as they approached. Several shopping carts were parked haphazardly in the bushes. Another lay on its side, bent almost in half. Old clothes were strewn about, food cartons spattered the area, and a small red-and-white shopping bag that appeared almost new was leaned against the wall near where the old woman was sitting on a stack of boards. The stench of garbage was not as strong as it was at the opening, but the smell of alcohol was more powerful.
The Advocate - 03 - The Advocate's Conviction Page 6